Hosiery



Nov. 26, 1935. e. s. VAN VOQRHIS HOSIERY Filed March 5, 1935 Fig.1

IN VENTOR! @gwm, 7 BY I I fli ATTORNE being illustrated in section;

Patented Nov. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOSIERY George S. VanVoorhis, Northampton, Mass, as- I signor to United Elastic Corporation,Easthampton, Mass a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 5,1935, Serial No. 9,438 2 Claims. (01. 2-240) This invention relates tohosiery. It aims to improve hosiery'of the very inexpensive types a witha view to producing a better article without substantially increasingthe cost of production. While the invention is primarily concerned withthe very cheap grades of hosiery, ,it is contemplated that it may alsobe, used to advantage in certain of the better grades, especially sometypes of sport hosiery.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims. 1

In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a side view of a stocking embodying features of thisinvention, the extreme top of the stocking being cut off and part of thestructure Fig. 2 is an enlarged 'view of the seam which joins the cufito the leg of the stocking shown in Fig. 1; and

- Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a slightly diiferentv embodiment of theinvention.

In making very cheap stockings, especially those designed for children'swear, it is a common practice to knit a foot and leg on a circularknitting machine, and then to stitch a cufl to the top of the leg. Thecufi usually is ribbed so as to have considerable circumferentialelasticity-- or stretch. Sometimes, however, the cult or top section ofthe stocking is of an entirely difierent nature. In making stockings. ofthis type according to the present invention, the top section or 'cuif 2and the foot and'leg section 3 of the stocking may be assembled in theusual way, the cuff being turned inside out and telescoped'over the.leg, and the two edges being brought together in registeringrelationship. These sections are then sewed together, and in connectionwith the sewing operation, a strip of rubber 4 is secured to thestocking, this strip extending along the seam and around the stocking sothat it will give to this part of the stocking a-considerably greatercir cumferential elasticity than it otherwise would have. Preferably thestocking is stretched circumferentially during this operation, and therubber, or other elastic strip included in the seam, is held undertension so that the degree of elasticity thus imparted to this portionof the stocking can be made greater or less, as desired' The anchoringof the rubber strip 4 in position, and

the binding '0: the'adjoining edges of the sections 2 and a isfacilitated by performing this stitching operation on a Merrow binder,or some other sewing machine of the type which will overseam an edge. Asshown in Fig. 2,'t he zig-zag threads of the seam pass through therubbenstrip;

5 leaving one margin projecting. beyond the threads of the seamwhile'theother margin is confined by the zig-zag threads, as inthe arrangementillustrated in Fig. 2.

An important objection to cheap stockings made by the methods abovereferred to is that thetop sections do not have suflicient elasticity tohold them in place. This-objection can be effectually overcome in themanner just de-v scribed. The invention, therefore, produces a mconsiderably better stocking at only a trifling increase in expense ofmanufacture, the only added cost being that of the rubber strand. Thesame problem arises in cheap work gloves in which the wrist portion orcuff made of a ribbed or other stretchable material is secured to thehand section of the glove, and the present invention is equally asuseful in the manufactureof articles T of this character. It givesadditional elasticity to the wrist section, particularly, at itsjunction with the hand portion of the glove, exactly as it does in thecase of hosiery. Consequently, in the claims, the terms hosiery andstockings will be used in a generic sense to include gloves, the

leg and foot section of a stocking corresponding 85 to the handandflnger section of a glove.

Having thus described my invention, what I desire to claimas new is:

1. That improvement in methods of making hosiery, which consists inproducing the foot and 40 leg section of a stocking and a-ribbed cuiI inindependent operations, telescoping one of said sections within theother with the edges of the two sections substantially registeredthroughout, overseaming said edges to secure the two sections together,and running an elastic strip into the seam so made simultaneously withtheseaming operation and securing it to the stocking by the stitches ofsaid seam,

2. In a stocking, the combination of a top section, a foot and legsection, a seam uniting said sections edge to edge throughout thecircumference of the stocking, the stitches of said seam extending overand binding the adjoining edges of'both sections, and a rubber strip.secured to the stocking by said seam.

GEORGE si VAN vooams.

